Rocky Mountain National Park’s iconic trans-mountain route was shut down Friday and will not again open until next May.
“With 11 miles of road located at elevations above 11,500 feet, few guard rails, and no shoulders, Trail Ridge Road is not designed to be an all-season road,” RMNP spokesperson Kyle Patterson said. “Winter conditions of drifting snow, high winds and below- freezing temperatures occur above 10,000 feet.”
Closure points are at Rainbow Curve on the east side of the park and at the Colorado River Trailhead on the west side of the park.
The 48-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 34 reaches an apex of 12,183 feet above sea level and is the highest continuous paved road in North America. The highway – one of only a handful of roads in the national park – is the most popular destination at RMNP, according to Rocky Mountain Conservancy.
Constructed mostly in the early 1930s, Trail Ridge Road has been a designated All-American Road since 1996.
Other roads in the park, including Bear Lake Road and Endovalley Road, remain open during the winter months.
Old Fall River Road closed to motor vehicles for the season earlier this month.